Still & Moving Center Retrospective

When I opened my doors for the grand opening 15 years ago, possibilities filled the air. I brimmed with potential – so many kinds of movement we could teach from all over the world! Come with me down memory lane to recall how our community and I have transformed. Aunty Doris Morisaki is helping me to write my story here.

I started as a seed of an idea in my “mom’s” mind. Renée Tillotson imagined me as a vibrant hub in the middle of the Pacific where Hawai’i locals and visitors could take mindful movement classes of all sorts under one roof. I would offer a safe, inviting community space that embraced all races, perspectives, and religions.

My “dad”, Cliff Tillotson, then constructed the home for me to live in at 1024 Queen Street in Honolulu, Hawai’i. Mom and Dad just got the ball rolling for me, then many, many more people fell in love with me and added all their magic!

Mom attended movement classes throughout Honolulu to find teachers mindful enough, caring enough, and safe enough for her to invite them to teach for me – whether in dance, fitness, martial arts, yoga, somatics, or aerial. And boy, was she meeting good ones!

Early in March, Mom made her biggest find. She met kumu hula Mālia Helelā, who graciously jumped in to help Mom and Dad Tillotson open me up on March 18, 2011. 

Mālia taught hula, did lomilomi massage, helped to run the front desk, and she has steadfastly stayed by Mom’s side ever since. I have tracked the passage of time by watching Māliaʻs children grow from toddlers to fine young adults, taking part in our Ramayana enactments, running tech, and now doing professional photography for us! 

With a small team, Mom has published the Still & Moving Center almanac with its inspirational themes and quotes, every year since I began. This year my theme is “Evolving with the Cosmos!” WOW! 

I remember the early days when my streetfront looked out on an industrial-type scene. Office Max and Nordstrom Rack had an open-air parking lot and loading dock on the corner. Homeless encampments came and went from the stretch of curb directly across the street from us. I could not really imagine the change of scenery that was to come.

The Prometheus Construction office lived in one of my small upstairs rooms for years. My neighbor, Thyda’s Tacos, recalls that when they opened their stand 10 years ago, construction fencing, demolitions and luxury condo construction was all transforming the street across from me. In 2018, Whole Foods arose, bringing more life, attractiveness, and ample parking to our city block. 

Physically, I have changed quite a bit myself. Unbelievably, the building I now live in first served as a printing company that shipped out books via my upstairs window opening! It became a Christian bookstore, which morphed into a muʻumuʻu factory. 

When Mom and Dad first came to look at me, many support posts interrupted the space, holding up the second floor ceiling. At Mom’s request for a big open dance floor, Dad replaced all those ugly posts with two humongous steel beams across the whole upper ceiling. You can still see them if you look for them. 

Everybody now loves moving freely across the beautiful, sprung mango-wood floors that he designed and installed up in my Barefoot Ballroom and down in my Dance Dojo!

My faculty grew and diversified, my student body grew, too.

The Covid pandemic put a vice grip on the world. Suddenly, students and teachers could not come to class to work on their physical, emotional and mental health. Everyone had to stay in their own pods. I shut down on March 17, 2020. Then, led by Neela Vadivel, my staff set up Zoom classes, trained our teachers, and explained to the members how it worked. In an astounding and proud moment, I reopened on March 22, 2020 – all in the span of FIVE DAYS! 

My community felt enormous relief to be up-close and personal again, streaming over laptops. 

Having an online option now meant that you didn’t need to live on  island to take or teach a class at Still & Moving Center. I now had – and still have – online classes with students scattered across the continental U.S., in places such as Vietnam, Austria, Japan, New Zealand, the outer islands, as well as their homes on Oahu. 

Our pool of teachers also expanded to many countries and continents. 

As you can see, Iʻve changed with the times, technologically speaking. Students used to sign waivers on paper, people called in to reserve a spot in a class, then wrote their name on the class sign-in sheet. We’ve renovated our system and added tablets, students began using smartphones, and life at the front desk has grown easier for everybody.

Despite being a youthful 15 years old, Iʻve had some work done! I started off with a jazzy teal and orange exterior paint scheme. A few years ago Dustin Hara – my current General Manager – arrived, and helped me put on a more refined Balinese Zen look. 

I had begun with one tiny massage room. Dustin got busy workers to repaint and upgrade my entire interior, converting my original massage room into a much-needed storage space. I now sport three gorgeous bodywork rooms, each with its own very different, lovely ambiance.

With the addition of a filtered water dispenser downstairs a few years ago, we’ve thus far saved 12,321 plastic bottles from going into a landfill, providing an eco-friendly way to keep everyone hydrated. 

While working on myself, I’ve always loved supporting those in need. Over the years, I’ve hosted many fundraisers for worthy causes, aiding trafficked youth with Ho’ōla Nā Pua, and supporting a tiny house village for the homeless called Hui Mahi’ai ‘Āina. I host a monthly soundbath/yoga benefit for local charities. We hold twice-yearly challenges, with participating students winning prizes and also helping me to donate generously to noble causes. 

Just as I hoped from my beginning, we’ve hosted teacher trainings for movement instructors from literally around the globe. The Founder of the Nia technique, Debbie Rosas, has come to lead trainings here. So has the originator of aerial yoga, Carmen Curtis.

People tell us our free community events have brought boundless joy to them and families… and I can see it on their faces! Since a departing military family generously gifted us with a baby grand piano last year, my Lyrical Lobby has been filled with spontaneous song and music. (Click here for the piano story). Our community shines brightly at our Merry & Bright, Silent Night, and May Day events.

Fifteen years ago, no one could have imagined the beautiful oasis that I would become for many. The other day, a new potential student came in, a bit tender, recovering from the loss of a spouse. She teared up as she toured my lovely Barefoot Ballroom. She no doubt felt the good vibes of a place, bathed in years of laughter, kindness, and aloha. My long-time students, both here and afar, hail Mom Renée down when they see her in the studio or at the grocery store, or they send her letters, thanking her for keeping me open all these years. 

I feel immensely honored to have served our amazing community for a decade and a half so far.